Author Topic: Tikka T3 Lite accuracy problem (Read 1452 times)

FJF6122 · « **on:** March 30, 2005, 08:19:49 AM »

I own a T3 Lite Stainless w/ laminated stock in .308cal. I have tried different ammunition(Rem, Fed & Win) and weight bullets(150, 165 & 180) but can not get the gun to shoot better than 2" groups at 100yds. I have not gone to the expensive ammo yet($30/bx) because I heard how well these guns did on the cheap stuff. Does anyone have any suggestions? What other ammunition to try? Has anyone had this problem? I heard how accurate these guns are before I bought mine, but have not seen evidence of it yet.

Trey

ought6 · « **Reply #1 on:** March 30, 2005, 08:45:30 AM »

I assume you are using a scope. Have you checked your scope mounts. I don't mean by trying to move the scope by hand, I mean checking the tightness of the screws by a screwdriver. If they are not lock-tited down, under the recoil of such a light rifle, they could easily become loose enough to cause a 2" group as opposed to a 1" group.

Also check to see if the barrel if free floated from the front of the stock back to an inch or two from the receiver. If not, you may want to fix that. If your stock is synthetic, a dolar bill will be sufficient to check for clearance. If your stock is wood, use a 10 dolar bill :lol: Just kidding, just use a thicker piece of paper, maybe 20lb printing paper.

One other thing, while I'm brain storming, check the parallax of your scope and see if the crosshairs are moving much at the range you are shooting. Set the rifle in a holder of some sort with the cross hairs centered on an object and move your head around behind the scope and see if the POA moves.

I hope you find the problem. T3's are very accurate rifles and I'd be very surprised if yours wouldn't do MOA with your .308.

FJF6122 · « **Reply #2 on:** March 30, 2005, 09:11:59 AM »

I have Warne Maxima rings which I put on with locktite. I know the scope is not loose. I'll check on the barrel and the scope parallax. What ammo does your gun shoot well?

Zachary · « **Reply #3 on:** March 30, 2005, 12:56:39 PM »

I own quite a few Tikkas and they are all shooters - MOA or better, and usually better.

I shoot everything from the cheap Winchester power points to the more expensive Federal Premium Nosler Partitions, etc. Sometimes the cheap stuff shoots just as accurately as the more expensive stuff. Remember, premium ammo doesn't necessarily mean better accuracy. Some bullets, like Barnes X, Trophy Bonded, and Swift-A-Frame have very high weight retention, mushroom beautifully, and penetrate like heck, but are generally not as accurate as, say, a lesser expensive Sierra GameKing boattail.

As was stated before, make sure that your barrel is free floating. Other than that, I highly suspect that the scope is the problem. What kind of a scope is it? Even good scopes sometimes go bad in a hurry, and can't hold their POI worth a darn. My Tikka Stainless Laminated in .25-06 shoots almost 1/2 inch groups, and it also has Warne Maxima silver rings, but it has an Elite 4200 4x-16x-40mm scope on it - no cheap thing.

Also, did you clean out the barrel of the factory lubricants it has inside before you shot it?

Zachary

FJF6122 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 31, 2005, 02:47:12 AM »

I cleaned and polished the barrel when I got the rifle. I have probably put 200 rounds thru it since Jan 2004 searching for the right ammo. I know the barrel is broken in, but still have to check to see if it's free floated. The scope is a Leupold Vari X III 3.5 x 10 x 40mm. I guess it might be the scope, but I had it on a Weatherby 7mm which printed 1/2" groups @ 100yds.

Squeeze · « **Reply #5 on:** March 31, 2005, 03:26:44 AM »

First some more info. Is it vertical, or horizontal, stringing the groups?

If there is no pattern to the groups, then you may have a damaged crown.
I just got a .308 Win pistol barrel back from T/C that shot groups that looked
like shotgun patterns. They re-crowned it, and now it shoots plain jane ammo
into 1.5 MOA groups.

Squeeze

FJF6122 · « **Reply #6 on:** April 01, 2005, 02:51:07 AM »

I didn't think about the crown. The groups are a shotgun pattern. I might send the gun back and let them take a look at it. Then, I'll look into the scope.
Thanks to all for the help!

Trey

smk · « **Reply #7 on:** April 01, 2005, 06:21:29 AM »

Have you cleaned the gun with a copper solvent and a good stiff brush ? After 200 shots you can copper foul a gun pretty bad. If the accuracy has always been bad that's probably not it, although my new T3 was kind of copper fouled from the test firing they did. Also, have you ever taken the gun apart? If you have, make sure that the recoil lug (the metal piece embedded into the stock at the front part of the action) is properly seated into the female slot on the bottom of the action. These are usually a pretty tight fit on Tikka's and can be a little hard to get back together. If it is not seated correctly your barrel would appear to be more free floated than it should be. I know of someone who did this on a T3 and it shot poorly until he figured out what was wrong. I have 3 Tikkas that shoot great, but sometimes you just get a lemon.

smk · « **Reply #8 on:** April 01, 2005, 06:26:28 AM »

Have you cleaned the gun with a copper solvent and a good stiff brush ? After 200 shots you can copper foul a gun pretty bad. If the accuracy has always been bad that's probably not it, although my new T3 was kind of copper fouled from the test firing they did. Also, have you ever taken the gun apart? If you have, make sure that the recoil lug (the metal piece embedded into the stock at the front part of the action) is properly seated into the female slot on the bottom of the action. These are usually a pretty tight fit on Tikka's and can be a little hard to get back together. If it is not seated correctly your barrel would appear to be more free floated than it should be. I know of someone who did this on a T3 and it shot poorly until he figured out what was wrong. I have 3 Tikkas that shoot great, but sometimes you just get a lemon.